Before I decided to leave school, I was compiling a list of available Interior Design scholarships. Just because I can’t take advantage of this list doesn’t mean you can’t, right?

Upcoming Interior Design Scholarships:

IFDA Scholarships
All applications must be postmarked by March 31, 2008. Results will be announced by July 31, 2008.

Charles D. Mayo Student Scholarship
Award: $1,000
Eligibility: Full time student having completed four design courses in a post secondary Interior Design or closely related program.

EF Part Time Student Scholarship
Award: not listed
Eligibility: Part time student having completed four design courses in a post secondary design Interior Design or related program and are currently enrolled in a minimum of two courses at an accredited school, college or university.

IFDA Student Member Scholarship
Award: $2,000
Eligibility: Full-time student having completed four design courses in a post secondary design program at an accredited school of design.

Vercille Voss Scholarship
Award: $1,500
Eligibility: Full time graduate student must have completed four design courses in a post secondary interior design or related program at an accredited school, college or university.

Ruth Clark Scholarship
Award: $1,500
Eligibility: Full-time student having completed four courses in a post secondary design program at an accredited school of design.

Marketing Internship Scholarship
Award: $1,500
Eligibility: An individual who is pursuing the marketing aspect of the design/home furnishings industry, such as a) currently enrolled full-time college student, b) a professional changing career fields or someone entering or reentering the job market.


ASID Scholarships
All applications must be postmarked by April 30, 2008.

Mabelle Wilhelmina Boldt Scholarship
Award: $2,000
Eligibility: Mabelle Wilhelmina Boldt Scholarship is open to students who are enrolled in or have applied for admission to a graduate-level interior design program at a degree-granting institution. Applicants must have been practicing designers for a period of at least five years prior to returning to graduate school level.

Joel Polsky Academic Achievement Award
Award: $1,000

Joel Polsky Prize
Award: $1,000

Yale R. Burge Competition
Award: One Award of $750 and up to Five Certificates of Excellence
Eligibility: Open to all students in their final year of undergraduate study enrolled in at least a three-year program of interior design.

Irene Winifred Eno Grant
Award: $1,000
Eligibility: Open to students, educators, interior design practitioners, institutions or other interior design related group engaged in the creation of an educational program(s) or an interior design research project dedicated to health, safety and welfare.

Dora Brahms Award
Award: $3,000
Eligibility: Open biennially to educational institutions on behalf of their students in historic preservation and/or restoration studies, to encourage and support the advancement of professional activities in historic preservation and/or restoration.


IIDA Scholarships

Lloy Hack Memorial Fund
The program invites an IIDA Student Member to submit an essay about his/her experience in a day-long environment, being mentored by an interior design firm.
Award: $1,000 each for the winning student and the mentoring design firm.
Eligibility: Entrants must participate in IIDA'sStudent Mentoring Week 2008, Februrary 4-8.

Remember, many scholarships get no entries; your odds of winning are infinitely better if you actually enter.

I'm not a huge fan of ApartmentTherapy's new site design. It's well organized and visually pleasing; with an all white background and light blue accents, it's certainly not going to offend anyone's sensibilities. But Maxwell has put all four cities - New York, LA, Chicago, and San Francisco - on the front page, making it a terribly busy place.

I understand why he did it. Now, people that would normally only check out the old main (New York) page will see what the rest of his team is doing. But having the content that 18 people create show up on a single page is overkill. There have been seven posts in the last hour alone. By posting so much, so often, I'm sure readers, like myself, are merely skimming the site, and not digging in to some of the great subjects that Maxwell and his crew present.

Like a post earlier today by sarahc, one of AT's Chicago bloggers, titled "Furniture That Survives the Test of Time". In the article, Sarah tells what types of furniture you should invest in - arm chairs, a good mirror, and a low bench, and gives examples of each. She also talks about antiques, but as if they are a type of furniture, instead of a segment of the furniture market.

"Buying furniture with the long view in mind can be difficult...you can't guarantee you'll still love it as much 10 years down the road as you did when you first saw it in the store, but there are a few things we've found that stand the test of time."

Sarah's reasoning for spending more money on a piece of furniture is so that it will last. I believe buying only quality, long lasting furniture is at the heart of sustainability. Buying inexpensive furniture that will only end up being replaced in a few years is great for the companies that manufacture and sell such items, but it's terrible for the environment.

I'm not just talking about IKEA, either. New companies that make more eco-friendly furniture (recycled or recyclable content), but at no better quality than the mass marketed pieces, are just as bad for sustainability. And bad for sustainability = bad for the planet.

Buying only high quality pieces ensures yourself, and the world, that that piece won't end up in a landfill in 5-10 years. Buying antique or vintage furniture does this even more so, by using that which is already made (that's the second part of the three green R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).

I think it’s great that AT tries to teach people why they should save up and pay more for quality furniture, but they should explain the environmental benefits that come along with the decision.

This doesn't just apply to furniture, either. For more information, check out Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff.

While searching for interesting design items from around the city, I came across a website featuring the American Institute of Architects' annual Top 10 Green Projects. The first building featured in the 2007 Top 10 is the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in South Boston.

Conceived in collaboration with the youth that benefit directly from Artists for Humanity's work and designed by Somerville-based Arrowstreet, "The EpiCenter is a simple, functional building that achieves the highest levels of sustainability on a tight budget. The building uses energy and water efficiently, incorporates recycled materials, makes full use of natural daylight, and promotes the health of its occupants. The EpiCenter also offers an opportunity to build public awareness of sustainable, economic, and environmental principles among the immediate community and beyond."

The EpiCenter is rated as LEED Platinum, the highest possible rating by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Congratulations to AFH and Arrowstreet on being named a Top 10 Project for 2007. I look forward to the day when every building is made to be as efficient as the EpiCenter.

First off, Happy New Year!

Okay, I know it's a little late. As I've mentioned before, my internet connection is spotty at best, but I've also been busy job hunting.

I need to take some time off from school and concentrate on working full time. As you can (hopefully) tell by reading DB, I'm a design fanatic and would love to work in the industry. If you or anyone you know is looking for an articulate, knowledgeable, design-addicted workaholic, please drop me an email.

Think of it this way: It's in your best interest to help me find a job, because I'll spend more time blogging and less time job hunting.

Best wishes to you in 2008, and as always, if I can be of any help to you, please email me.

Back in October, I told you about season two of e². I searched and searched the WGBH online schedule, but couldn't find when it will be shown. I finally gave in and emailed WGBH. A few days later, I got this reply:

The series you cited is not currently scheduled to air on WGBH 2 or 44. However, we have forwarded your request for WGBH to air this program to our broadcast manager.

We value viewer and listener opinions, indeed audience feedback is an important part of the process of programming for public television. All comments are carefully reviewed and considered in light of our planning and programming process.

WGBH is one of the biggest and oldest public television stations in the country. They "produce more of the PBS prime-time and Web lineup than any other station." Playing shows they don't produce costs more, so they need to see a demand for that production to be convinced to show it.

Here's where you come in: contact WGBH and tell them you want to see e²: energy and e²: design.

In the meantime, you can watch web- and podcasts on the e² website.